Creative Couple Filip and Faith Make Red-Hot Visual Magic

The relationship between the muse and photographer is a storied one, but few creative duos have a synergy as natural and effortless as Faith Picozzi and Filip Milenkovic. The couple works together consistently on projects, with Faith, a model, actress, and creative director, often posing for photographer Filip. Here, they talk about their process alongside an exclusive collaborative pictorial.

Hair by Preston WadaMakeup by Nicole Chew

FILIP: We met rollerskating in Glendale. I was expanding my portfolio at the time and needed some new models. One of Faith’s friends tagged a picture of her. I clicked on her profile and was like, ‘Oh my god. She’s a redhead.’ I was looking to shoot one.

FAITH: I told him to go through my agency, but I did start following him because his Instagram was cool. I knew a bunch of other people going rollerskating, and we ended up at a dive bar after. From that night, we’ve basically been together ever since.

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2/14FILIP: There weren’t any weird games. You know how people wait to text and things like that? It was just super-simple. It was just like, ‘I want to see her. I want to be with her. Why should I wait?’

FAITH: It was so refreshing. I’m not used to that! In LA, the whole dating situation is different.

3/14Faith: We love the ‘60s and ’70s. One, I’m inspired by the women of that generation, like Brigitte Bardot. We just like that old-school vibe. We try to bring in that essence but keep it current at the same time.

Filip: Those women are strong and confident. I fell in love with photography when I started shooting film. During the era of film, people were living in the moment more. Stuff with a real aesthetic to it is very alluring.

4/14FAITH: I’m originally from Las Vegas. I come from a show business family: a magician, showgirls, producers, so I grew up backstage. I’m a professionally trained ballerina; I can do acrobatics and contortion stuff. I would go over to my grandma’s house as a kid and we had lions, horses, kangaroos because they were all in aunt Magic Melinda’s show. I thought it was totally normal. I always wanted to pursue show business in my own way.

5/14FILIP: My mom was really into rock ‘n’ roll, so as a kid, we had vinyls everywhere. I got really in Credence Clearwater Revival. Also, French music, for some reason: Françoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg.

FAITH: Janis Joplin, Joan Jett, the Beatles, Rolling Stones: I like a lot of classic rock. It just puts you in a good mood. And they’re some great indie artists now, like Glass Animals and Tame Impala.

6/14FAITH: I started modeling when I was 16 and traveled a lot. I lived in Paris first, which was more high-fashion, couture. London was more edgy editorials. China was a completely different world. I would walk down the streets and people would follow me taking photos, which was a new experience, for sure! Then I came to L.A. and I’ve ended up working more than ever.

7/14FILIP: It’s cool when you find people you can really work with who are on the same path creatively. Everyone collabs together and kind of pushes it out. The energy on set is so important.

FAITH: We have a lot of fun together.

8/14FAITH: The key to any relationship in life is communication, and that’s what we’re really good at. If there’s something we disagree on, we communicate and find out what it is. It’s also all about being a good listener and opening up to what someone else has to say.

FILIP: Instead of being like, ‘This is my point of view!’ and blowing up.

9/14FILIP: There’s always more to learn. There’s never an end. If you don’t have a counterbalance or discuss things with other people and see whatever it is from other perspectives, you’re not going to grow as an artist or as a person. We’re always asking, ‘What can we do better?’

10/14FAITH: We usually have five things we’re thinking about before they’re even put into motion. Once one project is completed, it’s on to the next one. Always!

FILIP: If you stop, then you lose yourself, in a way. I always need to be doing something, just to keep at it.

11/14FAITH: Right now, I am totally in love with Gucci and their recent collection. I would love to shoot a Gucci campaign or commercial. That would be a dream. A photographer I would love to work with is Tom Craig. I love his style of work. It’s very cinematic.

12/14FILIP: Imagine what happens with a bigger production, how it pushes your image even further. I love shooting stories.

FAITH: There has to be a story. Depending on what I’m wearing or the location, I become that person. A model should be able to be versatile and adapt whatever the situation, character, them, whatever it is.

13/14FAITH: The female body is beautiful. We should celebrate it. Playboy is iconic and it’s so cool to see a new side of the woman’s body. It’s sexy. Change is good sometimes.

FILIP: It makes you see things differently.

14/14FAITH: I’m always on-set. I help cast the models, put together mood boards, we scout locations. We’re definitely a team. Then we just execute the shoot.